Let's Kinect to Increase Balance and Coordination of Older People: Pilot Testing of a Balloon Catching Game

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to design, develop and assess the usability of an interactive rehabilitation game. User centered design in combination with serious gaming strategies were employed in the design of a targeted therapy programme to encourage at home balance retraining using specifically designed software with the Microsoft Kinect sensor. The development of this game involved a multidisciplinary iterative design method employing the skills of physiotherapists, engineers and participants. Preliminary testing was conducted with younger adults and more formal testing with older participants to evaluate usability. Integrating the knowledge of all stakeholders increased the acceptability of the game by older participants. All were confident in the use of the technology and keen to increase their participation. Participants indicated on a usability questionnaire that these games are more engaging than typical therapy exercises. The games can be performed at home without the requirement for a partner and the participant can increase the game complexity depending on personal needs and preference. The time that the individual spends participating in the program and the results over several sessions can also be observed by the therapist allowing a better indication of adherence to therapy than self-report.

Dynamic Balance Measurement and Quantitative Assessment Using Wearable Plantar-Pressure Insoles in a Pose-Sensed Virtual Environment

“…For an integrated solution, the Kinect sensor enables effective human-computer interaction utilizing its motion capture technology. However, it is still difficult to estimate the balance activity accurately if the Kinect sensor is not used in connection with the other COP and COM devices [4,27,28,29].…”

Face Detection for Augmented Reality Application Using Boosting-based Techniques

“…By introducing the Kinect sensor to the game industry, Microsoft was able to position the controllerfree gaming device as en entirely new way to experience entertainment in the living room. With Kinect,games-players no longer need to memorize different commands for a hand-held control, they are the controllers themselves [4] [5]. For a visual tracking algorithm to be useful in real-world scenarios, it should be designed to handle and overcome cases where the target's appearance changes from frameto-frame.…”